Nissan says its not responsible for ant infested truck

DECATUR, Ga. -- Josh Wise says he's had enough of the ants in his truck. Some days there's one or two, other days he sees a swarm. He believes the ants were in his truck when he bought it. But he's having a tough time getting the dealership to believe. All he wants is the same make and model, without the bugs.

Josh Wise bought the Titan crew cab at the end of May for more than $42,000. The dealership had it brought up from another site in Florida.

Wise visited the site taking videos he says shows ant mounds around the property. But Nissan says none of them are the ghost ant, the species found in Wise's car.

We know the ant species well, because 11Alive was the one to take it to an identification specialist, concerned it might be the Crazy Ant, which is known to wreak havoc on electronics.

The ghost ant does not have the same reputation, but it's also not known to live in Georgia. Wise's story has given him a type of "entomological fame" considering he's now the first documented case.

Wise says he would give it up for a new truck in a heartbeat.

Wise says instead, Nalley Nissan showed his truck to a pest control company to get their advice. Wise was not allowed to be in the room during the inspection. He knows they took off the paneling they could without damaging the vehicle, but couldn't get to the queen.

In the end, Nissan offered to treat the truck and even his yard. His car was bombed once before. There was no improvement. But Nissan believes he'd get better results with it performed by a professional company.

To date, Wise had turned down the offer.

"We just don't want the kids, especially my infant, she just turned one, and with babies and their respiratory, we don't want to take chances with that," said Wise.

Even if the ants are killed, he wonders what impact they'll have on the long term performance of his truck, considering no one has even been able to find the colony's location.

He's asked for an extended warranty to protect his investment, but so far Nissan hasn't offered him one. Wise says he simply wants what he paid for - and not a single ant more.

In a statement to 11Alive, Nalley Nissan said: The dealer has never had an issue with a customer reporting ants in any vehicle sold and, based upon the dealer's preliminary assessment of the customer's vehicle, we believe that the ant infestation originated after the sale of the vehicle when the customer transported plants and other landscaping in the truck. We have nevertheless worked with this customer to obtain a satisfactory resolution to his concern. A professional pest inspector has examined the truck and determined that it is not infested with ants and there are no live ants in the cab of the customer's truck. However, to ensure total customer satisfaction, the dealer has offered to have a professional pest control company treat the truck and owner's yard for ants with a non-toxic, environmentally-friendly process. The dealer is committed to satisfying this customer in a fair and reasonable manner.

The dealership in Florida says it's had ants in a few cars over the years, but nothing that couldn't be treated with a bug bomb. After hearing Wise's story, the manager says he has treated his property for ants as a precaution.